SAN JOSE — Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown took the high road Monday, expressing regret over the fact his hit may have ended Sharks rookie Tomas Hertl’s season while acknowledging he understood why the Sharks were riled over the knee-on-knee contact he contended he tried to avoid.

“There’s two sides to every story. They’re going to be upset.” Brown said. “If that was reversed, the Kings would have been upset.”

The Sharks face the Kings for the first time since that Dec. 19 hit Monday night at SAP Center. San Jose will be trying to increase its Pacific Division lead over Los Angeles to 12 points.

Brown received a major penalty and game misconduct for the hit on Hertl, but no suspension followed. The Kings forward called the play “one of those things that kind of happens in the game of hockey.”

“All I can say is I made the effort to get out of the way. I think that was pretty evident on the video,” Brown said. “My intention was to hit him at first, and then I realized I wasn’t going to be able to get there in time because he had the puck on his stick for a split second.”

The Sharks did not see the hit that way, and general manager Doug Wilson was later critical of Brown for not expressing concern for Hertl, who ended up undergoing knee surgery and still could miss the remainder of the season.

“You never want to see anybody get hurt,” Brown said before praising Hertl specifically for the immediate impact he had with his four-goal game against the New York Rangers. “He’s pretty exciting coming into the league and we need more players like him who are willing to go through the legs and go shelf. That’s good for our game.”

He added that he and his teammates were talking about how good it was for hockey after Hertl scored those four goals with flair.

“It’s not often you see a young guy come in like that and be able to do the things he can do,” Brown said. “Hopefully, he can get healthy.”

So does Brown expect any attempt at retaliation?

“I don’t know,” Brown said. “I’m just preparing to play because at the end of the day, they’re 10 points up on us. There’s nothing more important for us at least than the two points. There’s no time for all the other stuff.”

On Sunday, the Sharks took a similar approach, saying that a win over the Kings would be the best payback for the hit on Hertl.

Sharks back-up goalie Alex Stalock will get the start against Los Angeles, his second in a nationally televised game against a potential Western Conference playoff foe. Stalock was in net Jan 5 for San Jose’s 3-2 shootout win in Chicago.

Stalock has consecutive shutouts over the Florida Panthers and Winnipeg Jets in his last two starts.